In two weeks Ezra will be 6 months old, so I guess it’s about time for me to record his birth story. Each of our children has a unique birth story (premature emergency c-section, scheduled c-section, scheduled c-section turned into a surprise VBAC, and bathroom delivery) – Ezra decided to join the ranks – forced admittance to the hospital and Water Birth!
I should start by admitting that this was not an easy pregnancy for me. Ok – starting out with a car accident, memory loss, and a concussion was not a great way to wade through first trimester. My concussion recovery, which took about 8 weeks, plus afternoon/evening sickness, plus taking care of our house (I didn’t have any house help until I was about 7 months pregnant), and being mommy and teacher to our four kids was exhausting. And then there was the varicose vein leg pain – for a while I couldn’t stand for very long to prepare food or do other tasks. I started doing most of my food prep sitting on the floor. And then there were the Braxton Hicks, which start for me before 20 weeks, occurring mostly during the night.
When we arrived in Thailand, I was exhausted and hadn’t even really had time to think about actually giving birth! We spent about two weeks in Thailand before Ezra was born. And they were two uncomfortable weeks for me, especially at nights. (I was probably actually contacting during several of those nights….but who knows.)
Since I had only had ultrasounds and some basic blood work done before arriving in Bangkok, I was concerned that my doctor was going to make me go through a bunch of testing like she made me do when I met her for my first appointment before Clara was born. I was very thankful she didn’t make me do any extra testing, especially the glucose tolerance test (I always fail the 1-hour test and then have to take the 3-hour fasting test). She did have me take the StrepB test and thankfully it came back negative. My doctor’s main concern was that I was going to have a repeat Clara birth experience and end up unable to make it to the hospital. She even talked about admitting me to the hospital if I got too close to my due date (August 18th). My doctor did tell me that if I did come to the hospital soon enough I could try to have a water birth, if they had time to fill the birthing pool (but she said she doubted they would have time, since she expected me to go quickly.) I think she was trying to convince me to come to the hospital early!
On Monday, August 13th, I went in for my normal weekly appointment. I took Anna with me for the outing, since I was letting different kids accompany me on the doctors’ trips. When I complained about having discomfort at night, my doctor asked to check me. I was dilated to a 4 – which for me seemed like no big deal. I wasn’t in labor. But my doctor made a huge deal about it and said she couldn’t let me leave the hospital and would admit me, break my water, and then she promised me I would give birth that day.
This is not what I wanted to hear. I had my 4-year-old daughter with me. Our friend who was going to stay with the kids was coming the next day. I asked if I could take my daughter home and come back tomorrow. My doctor would not hear of it – and I’m not very good at insisting on my own way with doctors. So I found myself in a wheelchair (they wouldn’t even let me walk) with Anna riding on my lap. I felt ridiculous! I was trying to text Josh to let him know what was happening. All these people were staring at me and I wasn’t even having contractions. We were ushered into a very nice birth-room designed for natural child birth. And there I was left to wait. So there I was – with Anna – just sitting around – not in labor – being admitted to the hospital. Thankfully, Josh was able to get in touch with a very nice couple, Steve and Martha Wilson, whom we met at the guesthouse and had recently asked to be our “back-up plan” in case I went into labor before our friend arrived. Then Josh waited with the kids until the Wilsons came. At that point he came to the hospital and took Anna home and then came back (all this had to be done by taxi).
Meanwhile a nurse came in and told me that my doctor had said I wanted my water broken. I smiled at her and said, “Do I have any choice?” She just sympathetically smiled in return. Thankfully they agreed to wait until Josh was back.
They started filling the birthing pool as soon as I got there (probably around 11:30am). Every few hours they had to empty some of the water and refill it to keep it at the right temperature. It was kinda funny.
I was very concerned about having my water broken. Lots of resources on having a VBAC will tell you that the key to having a VBAC is staying out of the hospital as long as possible. Once they break your water, you are typically only allowed 24 hours until the baby must come out. If my doctor broke my water and nothing happened, the chance of having a C-section would highly increase. I was quite stressed about this. I was hoping that I would make good progress before my doctor came to break my water, and thankfully she was very busy all afternoon with her other patients down at the office.
Around 5:30 my doctor came and checked me again – I was at a 7 and they were amazed that I wasn’t having much discomfort. I didn’t think it was anything to be concerned about. Around 6, she went to break my water – she couldn’t find it. She told me to go play with all the birthing toys. I felt so dumb – there I was playing on the toys but not feeling like I was in labor. She came back about 20 minutes later to try again and this time she found it.
My doctor was expecting things to move fast and just sat outside my room at the desk – ready and waiting. I’m not sure about the timing, but soon I started feeling stronger contractions. And very soon after that I knew it was time. Josh went to call for help and people came fast. I got in the birthing-pool and a few minutes later with just a few pushes out came Ezra into the water. We lifted him up out of the water and I saw he was a boy – surprise! He had his cord wrapped around his neck and I helped get that off. He was still covered in vernix – that waxy white substance coating the skin of newborn babies – I ended up having it all over my arms. I was so relieved and thankful for another VBAC and found it amusing that it was another unique birth experience (forced admittance to the hospital and water birth).
Time for another confession – I was not a quiet, controlled mother during labor. I had read that it was better to moan and groan during labor, versus tightening your muscles; and let me tell you, I felt quite free in expressing my discomfort. I think my favorite phrases were, “This Hurts!” and “I don’t think I want to do this!” Once those contractions hit – they are strong! I only spoke strongly once. My doctor kept wanting me to sit down on the bench in the tub – but I couldn’t. And that’s what I told her, “I CAN’T!” One thing that made it laugh during labor was the song that came up on my playlist. I had created a Labor/Delivery playlist with some of my favorite songs to help me remain calm. Somehow the Michael W. Smith’s Christmas albums got tagged on the end. So as I was in the last stage of labor, I heard Michael singing Christ the Messiah, God is with us, Emmanuel. How appropriate, I thought – I birth song.
My doctor pretty much let me labor and push at my own speed. Once Ezra’s head was out she asked me to push one more time. Besides that she let me be in charge and I let my body be in charge. (For those of you who are wondering, I was the only one in the birthing pool – everyone else was standing outside.)
And there he was – I drew him out of the water. Our second son. Ezra Emmett Jensen.
And one last confession – my doctor was right…I probably wouldn’t have made it to the hospital. I would have waited too long until I felt like something was actually happening and then it would have been too late. So I thanked her for making a good decision for me (though bathroom babies are really exciting!).
Josh was a great support during the entire birth. I was so relieved once he got the kids settled and got to the hospital. He brought Subway sandwiches, since I had missed lunch. I was so hungry. We were so thankful are kids were very happy with Steve and Martha Wilson and so thankful for their help to our family. Josh did his best to help pass the waiting time away – as I was stressed and didn’t feel like doing much at all. Josh was able to rub my back during the water birth and be a wonderful support during the intense labor. So thankful for him!